Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
april2009 free V E R N O N I A’ S reflecting the spirit of our community volume2 issue11 vernonia visitors guide Page 13 School Board Approves Site Selection Schaumburg House Progressing Architect Also Chosen for New School Campus Design In what appeared to be almost a formality, the Vernonia School Board approved a choice for a site for a new school campus at its regular meeting on March 12, 2009. By Scott Laird The Schaumburg House-- the house that community members are pitching in and helping build for Dean, Kendra and Sylas Schaumburg-- has broken ground and is moving forward quickly this year. According to Casey Mitchell, who is co-managing the project with Bruce Holtz, the project was given a shot in the arm by Christian Aid Ministries, who were in town to help with flood relief, and put their construction skills to use to frame the house. Voting six-to-one in favor of what is being called the “Boot Site,” which was the site rec- ommended by the Or- egon Solutions Team, the School Board paved the way for Su- Vernonia Superintendent Ken Cox and School Board President Kim Wallace perintendent Ken Cox during discussions about site selection for a new school campus. to begin negotiations for specific properties. The lone dissenting vote came from board member Ernie Smith. Board member Jim Krahn made the motion to choose the Boot Site as the first choice for the new school campus and then spoke about the site selection process during the discussion. “The Oregon Solution process is a very open, extensive and collaborative process,” said Krahn. He then went on to state, “I think we do a dis- service if we don’t respect the people-- the community, the folks who have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this process, and, most of all, the students of our community. We need to move forward with this, and we need to move forward with it now.” The project had been held up through the winter with financing issues, but the signing of a small construc- tion loan with Wauna Fed- eral Credit Union gave the go-ahead to begin building. The project has received numerous donations, in- cluding donated lumber from Olympic Forest Products that was used to frame the house and used to construct the trusses; Parr Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 290 donate time to help with the Schaumburg House. Lumber, who has given the project great deals on supplies; The Truss Company, who built the trusses from the donated lumber; and Travis Argue and the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local Union 290-- who worked outside on a cold, snowy Saturday in March, and, according to Mitchell, when they were finished, asked if they could come back. Construction of the project is being overseen by local general contractor Jim Pripich. Dean Schaumburg was injured in a log- ging accident in the summer of 2007,and has been recovering and doing intensive rehabilitation since returning home in early 2008. The rental where the family was liv- ing was severely flooded in December, 2007, just days before Dean was sched- uled to come home. The Board also approved the selection of BOORA Architects, Inc., of Portland, to create the design for the new campus. The District received ten responses to a solicitation for proposals. ,A team comprised of members of the facility committee, staff, and a facility professional from Beaverton School District reviewed the proposals and scored them as outlined in the RFP. ,This review team, based on scoring, determined a short list of three firms to be interviewed. ,Those firms were Dull Olsen Weekes Architects (DOWA), Portland, OR; Soderstrom Architects, Portland, OR; and BOORA Architects, Portland, OR. ,All three firms are highly qualified to perform the desired services and have extensive experience in K-12 educational facilities. On March 11, 2009, interviews were conducted with the three firms by Superintendent Cox; Dawn Plews, Business Manager; and John Hartsock, Project Manager, Beaverton School District. ,The interview panel scored the presentations and responses to specific questions developed for the interviews. ,The interview team recommended the BOORA firm as the best choice for the District. ,That decision was made final at the March 12 meeting. Superintendent Cox said that the BOORA team appeared “...enthusiastic and excited to be part of the project.” inside 11 18 23 meet lori grimmett Christian Aid Ministries Workers helped frame the home be- ing built for Dean and Kendra Schaumburg. Mike Pihl donated a 5,000 square foot lot that is out of the flood plain, for the new construction. If you would like to support the Schaumburg House Project, please contact Casey Mitchell at 503-369-3133; or send donations to the Schaumburg Building Fund at PO Box 174, Vernonia, OR 97064. Vernonia’s Voice Wins Rural More Than Just An Ax Award for Excellence Man:An Interview With Vernonia’s Voice and Editor/Publisher, Scott Laird, were the recipients of the Rural Oregon Award for Excellence for Community Leadership at this year’s Mike Pihl Regards to Rural Conference. The conference was held in Salem on Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21, and was organized by Rural Development Initiatives (RDI). Laird accepted the Award during an Awards Luncheon on Saturday and was accompanied by Vernonians Tobie Finzel and Mayor Sally Harrison. The Community Leadership Award is given each year to a graduate of an RDI-facilitated leadership training program who has used their leadership tools and skills to increase capacity and add value in their community. empty bowls st. partick’s day parade Vernonia’s Voice Editor/Publisher Scott Laird at the Rural Oregon Award For Excellence Luncheon with Rural Development Initiatives Kathy Jawor- ski and Craig Smith Vernonia’s Biggest Celebrity is More Than Just a Logger Last year, Vernonia became famous, not just as the town that flooded, but because of the world-wide popularity of a television show “Ax Men.” The show featured local logging outfit, Mike Pihl Logging, whose crew became internationally recognized. This year, the History Channel has returned to Vernonia for a second season and is once again featuring Mike Pihl Logging. But Pihl is more than just a logger. He has been very vocal about the need for new schools in Vernonia, and is putting together a large housing de- velopment in town. Vernonia’s Voice sat down to talk with Mike Pihl about being an Ax Man, about the logging industry, about new schools, and about the future of Vernonia. (continued on page 18)
